Adventures in MFA Land

Poet and assistant Director of the Solstice MFA in creative writing program Quintin Collins provides inside information on MFA programs: how to apply, what to expect, and how to make the most of the unique opportunity. Listen to episode on Spotify

In February 2025, I interviewed 10 community college faculty. Each is an editor or supervisor of a literary journal published by their community college. Community College Literary Journals The journals are published in two formats: electronic and paper. Seven are available in both formats, one is paper only, and two are electronic only. All journals include fiction, poetry, and essays. Nine also include art. Art includes original art, such as graphic designs, and photographs of other artworks such as ceramics, murals, or paintings. Seven of the journals are given away for free. Three have a price between 4-10$. Three journals originated in the 1970s. Two began in the 1980s. One started in the 1990s. Two journals originated in the early 2000s, and two more began after 2010. All journals publish one issue a year. The smallest total number published by a journal, 15, and the largest total number published, 56.   Eight journals take the full academic year to put together and p...

  My essay, "Writing an Erotic Romance Novel" is included in this beautiful collection of "Bimbo" work. From my author's Note: Isabelle Drake was born in the spring of 2005. After 5 years of publishing mainstream romances, I’d gotten a small press contract for my first erotic romance, Everglades Wildfire. I used a pseudonym not because I was embarrassed about penning an erotic romance but because I wanted to enjoy the creative process of writing. I’d been trying to sell my manuscripts to The Big Publishers for years and had come heart-breakingly close on several occasions; publishing the steamy stuff in silence reconnected me with my love of writing and telling stories.... Surrounded by other hard-working authors and dedicated, happy readers, I didn’t find what I was doing scandalous, insignificant, easy, or worthy of ridicule. What did they, these freshly reacquainted folks of my past, think? Well, the essay answers that.  Read my essay and all the rest in The ...

Absolute  from Oklahoma City Community College Alchemy  from Portland Community College Bare Hill  from Finger Lakes Community College The Bellwether Review  from Portland Community College Breakwall from Cuyahoga Community College Cababi  from Pima Community College Cabbages & Kings  from Monroe Community College Calliope from Northern Virginia Community College Cedar Valley Divide  from Kirkwood Community College  Channel Marker  from Tidewater Community College Citadel  from Los Angeles City College Connections from College of Southern Maryland Facets  from Butler County Community College The Fall Line  from Piedmont Virginia Community College Freshwater  from Asnuntuck Community College Go Anywhere from Ozarks Technical Community College Images  from Monroe County Community College Letter & Line  from Portland Community College Luna  from Nassau Community College The MacGuffin  fr...

Last summer, when I was at a research institute reading my way through the mid-1950’s. I attended the Popular Culture Association’s Research Institute at Bowling Green State University’s Pop Culture Library to research the CCA approval process’ impact on Betty and Veronica and started reading wide for context. I read the comics, and about the comics, but then I started reading other periodicals published at the same time.  I read stacks of magazines from the mid-1950’s. I read Teen, Good Housekeeping, Playboy. I was struck the messaging around dating, dating culture, and “relationships.” Struck is putting it gently. Disturbed or disoriented are better descriptors. When I returned home, the desire (need) to “do” something pressed at me. I crafted a collage essay of featurettes. If you follow me on social media, you may have seen photos and read my comments about the surprises I encountered. Well, when I returned home, I pulled some of it together and created a new CNF subgenre:...

Podcasts of all kinds are everywhere and in many forms. Naturally you have thoughts about being a guest on one - chatting about your work, your glorious life as an esteemed author, and generally having a good time. How do you get on a podcast? How do you handle the moment once you get there? So many podcasts Think about which podcast you'd like to be a guest on. Start with the ones you enjoy and that relate to your interests and what you have to talk about. To find more podcasts, try using ListenNotes . This website provides information on podcasts, their topics, where listeners are from, and how popular they are. PodChaser is another place to find podcast lists. If you're interested in newsletters about podcasts, The Audio Storyteller substack offers helpful information. Once you've found some podcasts, listen to at least a few episodes. Note the common topics, tone, and vibe of the show. Analyze what makes the podcast special and how your topic fits in. Learn about ...

  Dark author humor of that particular breaking point right before you switch it up.